For 23 years, the congregation at Glendora United Methodist Church counted on Pastor Doug Hodson to be their community’s leader, a beacon of strength in good and bad times. But on June 29, the church bade their farewells to the longtime leader as he ended his service and moved to La Habra UMC.

“It was hard to leave the Glendora church because we’ve been there for a lot of time,” Hodson said on Wednesday. “It wasn’t something I was thinking, ‘oh it’s time to go,’ but when this came as a possibility I thought, this feels right.”

Hodson, who has spent 34 years in ministry, was assigned to the La Habra church beginning July 1. Most pastors in the United Methodist system spend about 10 years at their churches, he said, which makes his length of service so unique. The Glendora resident and his wife Kris have long ties to their new community, though.

“Not only did my wife and I both grow up here,” Hodson said, “but my family on father’s side has been part of congregation since its beginning in the 1890s. My great-grandparents on my father’s side moved to the La Habra Valley after coming from Kansas.”

In his first days, Hodson already has spoken to parishioners who remember him as a boy, including one 97-year-old member of the congregation who recalls seeing the pastor crawling around under the pews.

“I told him, you’re 97 and I’m almost 60, I don’t think we’re going to be doing much crawling under the pews now,” Hodson laughed.

In his time at Glendora UMC, Hodson became involved in the library board of trustees, Glendora Church Homes, Glendora Ministerial Association and helped start the East San Gabriel Valley CROP Walk, which raises money for groups that reach out to those who need hunger assistance, said Mayor Pro Tem and First Christian Church of Glendora Pastor Karen Davis.

“It has been a privilege and honor to have had the opportunity to work with him for the last 21 years,” Davis said. “He definitely has a servant’s heart in serving the community and his ministry will be missed.”

The Glendora church will be led by the Rev. Dr. Hillary Chrisley, who was previously assigned to a church in Santa Barbara.